untitled
by fishbone311
Summary: cloti. my first fanfic so please support! heehee!
1. Chapter 1

**the story begins after advent children. cloti, cloud tifa, call it what you want. its my first time writing a fanfic so please go easy on me! enjoy!**

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The rain slid down her silky smooth hair, trickling onto her cream- colored skin. "Thank you Aries… Thank you for everything. "She whispered to the rain. Now sitting on the cold cement steps that lead up to 7th Heaven, Tifa Lockhart had been close to losing everything she loved and cherished just moments ago. To be able to be sitting there and crying unnoticed in the rain seemed almost unbelievable for her. She owed all of her hope of happiness to one person. "Thank you." Tifa repeated. Tifa tilted her head towards the sky, taking in the serenity of the moment. The roads clear of any traffic, the sky filled with stars. Closing her eyes, she reminisced on the day's painful events. _"Cloud! " Tifa screamed as she witnessed the explosion. Seconds ago she was rejoicing over Sephiroth's defeat. Now teary-eyed and face pale, Tifa cupped her hands over her face and sobbed, "You can't leave yet… I still have so much to tell you Cloud..." It was then a familiar voice rang in her mind, 'Go to the church, and there you will find him.' Tifa shot up, eyes puffy and red, turned to Cid and murmured, "The church..." _She shook her head violently, water sprinkling all over herself. 'He's still alive; he's still with me…' Tifa reminded herself. She tried focusing her thoughts on something else and her eyes rested on a small figure in the distance nearing at a quick pace. A smile crept across her lips as she made out the spiky hair and the sound of a motorcycle.

Thoughts raced through his mind as Cloud rode fenrir through the quiet, deserted streets of edge. It was late evening and everyone was probably making preparations for bed after a long day. 'Maybe I shouldn't have stayed out so late helping them set up shelters…' Cloud thought as he stifled a yawn. He was beat after such a long day of events happening one after another. After a long ride, 7th Heaven finally came into view. Squinting through the rain, Cloud spotted a small figure sitting on the porch of 7th Heaven, drenched in the rain. "Why isn't she asleep yet…" he mumbled, clearly unhappy with Tifa's decision to wait for him in the cold rain. He sped up and zipped through puddles of water, causing water to splash up on the pavements. Coming to a halt at the garage of 7th Heaven, Cloud stopped the engine and without even bothering to park the bike, he hopped off it and dashed towards Tifa who stood up abruptly at his unusual entrance. "Wha…?" before she could finish her sentence, Cloud herded her into the house and out of the rain hastily. Only when Cloud had a fluffy towel wrapped around her did he let her speak. "What wer…" "Why were you sitting in the rain? Look! You're drenched!" he cut her off as he was drying her hair with another towel. Tifa didn't know what to say. On one hand she was delighted that Cloud still cared about her but on the other hand she was frustrated with him for coming home so late. Cloud noticed her silence and stopped drying her hair which was in a complete mess now. Before he could lecture her again, Cloud stared at her now disheveled hair and was overwhelmed with laughter. Tifa astounded at Cloud's sudden outburst of laughter, placed her hands on her hips and questioned, "What is SO funny Mister Strife?" Cloud had already collapsed on the floor clutching his ribs and laughing hard. Tifa bent down and gave his ribs an impatient dig but Cloud only responded by pointing to her hair. Tifa glanced at her reflection in the nearest window and gave a small 'oh' before rushing to her room to fix her bombastic hair leaving Cloud sprawled on the sleek wooden floor of the bar trying his best to stifle his laughter.

Tifa sat down before her dressing table and tackled her hair with a comb. After a few strokes, her hair began to fall into place with a few strands sticking out. Tifa let out a sigh of relief as she set her comb back down onto the table. She stared into the mirror and was deep in thought. She was very thankful for her hair acting the way it did at the right time. Or she would have never have gotten out of such a situation with Cloud. Never has Cloud reprimanded her… Or laughed at her for that matter. 'I guess whatever happened today really did change him for the better.' Tifa pondered over that thought. "_I feel lighter now." Cloud said as he sheathed his sword. "Maybe I lost some weight from all that dilly-dallying."_ Tifa smiled and her reflection in the mirror smiled back at her. "I'll just have to deal with him tomorrow…" Tifa muttered under her breath as she yawned and crept into bed.

Cloud's laughter wore off after awhile as he was dead beat. He found his eyelids drooping and decided to take a rest on floor. 'I'll just get up in 5 minutes… Besides, I really need the rest.' Cloud running the excuse through his mind to make sure it sounded convincing if he should sleep through the night. With a big yawn and a stretch, Cloud lay on his back with his hands behind his head and his right leg propped up. 'Wow, I never knew the bar's floor was so comfortable…' Cloud thought as he drifted off to sleep. Tifa was awoken by a deep persistent sound that seemed to be coming from the bar. She hid her head under a pillow trying to block out the sound but to no avail. Tifa was beginning to get frustrated as she checked her clock on her bedside table. It read 3.00am. With a soft grunt of frustration, Tifa sauntered out of bed and down to the bar to find out what was making the noise. 'Luckily the kids are such heavy sleepers…' she thought as she walked down the stairs. Standing at the door that led from the living room to the bar, she noticed that the sound turned into a distinctive snore. Upon the realization that it could only be one person behind that door, she let out a sigh and shook her head. Tifa pushed the door open and squatted down beside Cloud's sleeping form. She glanced at his right arm, where the bluish-black marks of geotisgma used to be. Now his skin was clear of the marks. 'Now he doesn't need to wear that long ugly sleeve anymore.' Tifa thought happily with a smile tugging at her lips. Tifa leaned back against the bar and sat down, thoughts running through her mind. 'He really pulled through for us. Never in my life would I have ever imagined that Cloud was capable of such laughter.' She reminisced that moment where Cloud was laughing uncontrollably at her disorientated hair. Tifa loved Cloud that way. She wished that he would stay that way. 'It was much better to look at a cheerful Cloud than a always cold looking Cloud.' She agreed with herself as she started to tickle Cloud in an attempt to wake him up. In result, Cloud waved feebly at Tifa's hand, trying to swat her away as if she was a fly. Tifa persisted and Cloud opened his eyes wearily as he could take it no longer. "I really need the sleep…" He mumbled, turning on his side to continue sleeping. " "Well, if you need the rest you shouldn't be getting sleep HERE." Tifa whispered repeatedly as she tickled him mercilessly. "Alright, alright. I'll go up to my room. Care to join me?" Cloud extended a hand to Tifa, grinning. Tifa, caught by surprise, slapped away his hand playfully and ran up to bed as her cheeks started to warm. Cloud shrugged, stifled a huge yawn and slumbered his way up the stairs. Tifa rushed into her room, shutting the door with a click, and leaned against the door, panting as her cheeks were flushed. 'Cloud has really changed…' Tifa thought as she moved over to her bed and lay down. 'I really hope that he's still the Cloud I know.'

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Author's Note: Sorry for the short first chapter. If i get many review then ill continue on the 2nd chapter! haha.


	2. Chapter 2

**well, this came up much sooner than i thought it would. and even though there's only 2 reviews, ill still update! lol. thanks for the reviews anyway and enjoy!**

**oops i almost forgot the disclaimer again.**

**i do not own FF7 or any of the characters. **

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"Argh…" Clutching his back, Cloud woke up the next day with a rather bad back ache.

"I really shouldn't have spent most of the night on the floor…" he mumbled to himself. Struggling to get out of bed, Cloud slipped on a white long sleeved shirt along with his sweatpants over his boxers. Unable to resist the pleasant smell of breakfast coming from the kitchen, Cloud made his way down to the kitchen and sat down at the table. "Good morning." Tifa greeted him as she served him a plate of bacon and eggs.

"Good morning…" Cloud replied, not bothering to conceal a yawn before tucking into his food gratefully. He didn't have time for dinner last night and was famished this morning.

"So, how did you sleep last night?" Cloud asked between mouthfuls. Tifa cracked a few more eggs into the frying pan.

"Alright I guess." She stopped cooking and turned to face Cloud.

"Were you feeling alright last night?" Cloud raised his eyebrow, mouth still full of egg. He tried to talk only to have pieces of egg coming out of his mouth instead of words. Draining a glass of milk, Cloud washed the remainder of the eggs down this throat and continued,

"Last night? OH." Eyes opened wide in realization.

"OH." Denzel and Marlene mimicked him loudly.

"Since when do I sound like that?" Cloud asked jokingly, just noticing Marlene and Denzel in the kitchen.

"Here." Tifa handed them their bacon and eggs, portion significantly smaller than Cloud's, and sat down on either side of him.

"Where did you go last night Cloud?" Denzel questioned after taking a sip out of his glass of milk. "Yeah, Cloud, we waited ALL night for you!" Marlene added in. Cloud scratched his head and apologized profusely, "Sorry to have kept you guys waiting. I was really busy last night." Tifa joined them at the table, taking a seat opposite Cloud, tucking in to her own breakfast.

"You need to make up for last night!" Marlene chirped.

"Yeah! Let's go out to play today okay Cloud?" Denzel suggested, brimming with excitement.

"But I… I…" Cloud stuttered turning to Tifa for help. Tifa gave him a nod and her usual smile that Cloud always seemed to find overwhelming.

"I… Oh, alright then. We can go to the park today." Cloud finished.

"But!" Tifa cut into the children's cheer,

"you have to clean your room first." Denzel and Marlene turned to Cloud with their puppy dog eyes and tugged on his sleeve. Cloud at a loss of what to do turned to Tifa again. She returned his gaze and both of them seemed to be caught up in the moment. 'Tifa, you look beautiful today, like always.' Cloud thought as his cheeks turned a light pink. 'Cloud, I wish I could tell you how I feel.' Thoughts running through Tifa's mind.

"Cloud…" Denzel whined again, causing Cloud to break his chain of thoughts. Cloud glanced at Denzel, then at Marlene.

"Okay okay… you don't have to clean your room. Just finish your breakfast and get changed. Then we'll set off alright?" Cloud was hoping that Tifa wouldn't be angry at him for giving in to the kids all the time.

"YAY!" Denzel and Marlene cheered as they set their plates in the sink and ran up the stairs to their room to get changed. Cloud smiled at their enthusiasm only to hear a chuckle coming from Tifa.

"Cloud? Does this mean you're gonna clean their room for them?" Tifa asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"What? I never said that!" Cloud quickly trying to cover up his mistake.

"Then at least you'll help me wash the dishes?" Tifa flashed him the puppy dog eyes the kids just used a while ago.

"Don't don't… Now don't you try that on me!" Cloud stuttered as he stood up waving a fork with an impaled strip of bacon.

"Thanks Cloud!" Tifa smiled sweetly at him before setting her plate in the sink and trailing off to her room giggling.

"You're the best Cloud…" Cloud muttered to himself as he chomped his last bit of bacon.

It was late morning by the time Cloud, Tifa, Denzel and Marlene made it to the park. As Denzel and Marlene rushed off to play with the other children at the park that day, Cloud and Tifa were looking for a shady spot under a tree. They finally settled down at the foot of a maple tree, its branches of leaves long and big enough to shade them from the heat of the sun that afternoon. As Cloud lay down to take a nap under the tree, Tifa watched the beautiful leaves of the maple tree drift down onto the grass. It was early autumn and all the trees in the park had a beautiful contrast of color from green to red to brown. Tifa turned her gaze to Cloud already asleep on the grass, 'I wish I could tell you how much I love you. But I'm afraid that you will not return my love, with the result of breaking our friendship. The last thing I want is to lose you. But if I could live with you forever like this, I would be content.' Tifa sighed and ran her hand through her ebony locks, making sure the wind didn't mess her hair too much. Cloud opened one eye and took a peek at Tifa. He loved to see her like this, her natural beauty radiating off her. The way her hair swayed in the wind, the look of delight upon her face. Cloud wanted so much to be with her. But he knew in his heart that she only regarded him as her best friend. Cloud closed his eye and turned his head. Those thoughts hurt him. 'If only she knew how much I loved her.'

Soon, Tifa heard someone calling her name. "TIFA! Come here! Quickly!" Tifa snapped out of her thoughts and turned to where the voice was coming from. Denzel was waving to her frantically, signaling her to come over while Marlene sat on the ground beside him with something long sticking out of her leg. Tifa's heart skipped a beat and raced over. If anything happened to Marlene she wouldn't be able to forgive herself.

Cloud heard the commotion and woke up, still dazed. When he found a crowd forming not too far away and Tifa missing, he sensed something was going on and got up to jog over to the area of commotion.

Tifa tried her best to keep her composure as she examined what seemed to be a extraordinarily large splinter stuck in Marlene's right leg. It looked like it went quite deep in. Thankful that her late father always made it a habit to keep a restore material on her, she pulled out the green orb and started to focus her energy. Suddenly, a hand grabbed the material and her hands.

"Wha…" Tifa began, but only to be cut off by the serious look on Cloud's face. Cloud turned to Marlene and attempted to pull out the splinter.

"You need to pull out the object before you can heal the wound Tifa. I thought you knew that." Cloud muttered under his breath as he yanked the splinter out and used the restore materia on the wound immediately.

"I'm sorry I was just… just…"

"Just not focusing." Cloud finished for her as he returned her the shining green orb. Tifa was at a loss for words. Had she almost put Marlene's life in further danger? She didn't want to think of the consequences if Cloud wasn't there. 'There's something weird about this… Splinter…' Cloud secured the splinter on his belt and picked up Marlene. The wound had closed but there was still a scar and dried blood all over her leg. She had fainted from the excessive loss of blood.

"Is she gonna be okay Cloud?" Denzel asked innocently. He had dried tears stained on his cheeks and hands. 'He was crying for Marlene…' Cloud figured.

"Yeah, she just needs cleaning up and rest." Cloud smiled reassuringly to Denzel. He sniffed and nodded trying his best not to cry any more.

"Aren't you coming Tifa?" Cloud turned around to ask.

"Go ahead. I'll catch up in a bit." Tifa assured him. Cloud shrugged and walked home with Marlene in one hand and Denzel holding his other. Tifa couldn't help but keep replaying the scene in her mind. Marlene having to amputate her leg just because Tifa was careless. Barret blaming it all on Tifa and never wanting to talk to her again. Cloud being utterly disappointed in her for Marlene could not walk anymore. Tifa shook her head and tried clearing the thoughts, but they still haunted her. 'I need to get out of here… Cloud is waiting for me.' Tifa tried to think of other things as she ran her way back to 7th Heaven.

Cloud was tucking Marlene into bed after cleaning up her wound with Denzel by his side at all times incase he needed a hand as well as to see how Marlene was doing. Marlene woke up on the way back to the bar and now was fast asleep in bed. "Cloud, Where's Tifa? I'm starting to get hungry." Denzel asked. Realizing that his own tummy was growling, Cloud too had no idea where Tifa was. A mountain of worry building up inside him, Cloud told Denzel to prepare the table for dinner while he went to look for Tifa. Denzel obliged and scurried to the kitchen, happy to be able to help Cloud. 'These kids couldn't make life any easier.' Cloud thought as he grinned.

Cloud did up his boots and made his way out of 7th Heaven. Deciding that he would start looking around the park and that riding fenrir would definitely cover more ground faster than on foot, Cloud took off for the park in a cloud of dust.

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**Author's Note: I'm sorry if this chapter doesn't really link to the first one. But i'm trying very hard to have it all make sense in the end! Reviews are very much welcome! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay chapter 3 out! cheers sorry if there are many mistakes in this chapter. I did the checking at 2am in the morning cuz iwas too anxious to finish this chap. enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of the characters. (how i wish i did. T.T)**

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Cloud reached the park in no less than five minutes, keeping a look out for a tall, slim dark haired girl dressed in black on the way there. It wasn't gonna be easy and Cloud knew it. Parking his bike against a lamppost at the entrance of the park, Cloud sheathed his sword and continued into the park hastily, fearing for Tifa's safety. He knew that Tifa would definitely be here, he knew her better than anyone else. She would take her time in the park pondering over her thoughts. 'She's probably just angry at herself for almost causing hurt to Marlene.' Cloud assured himself. 'Nothing's gonna happen to her.'

_After tucking Marlene into bed and setting Denzel a task, Cloud took out the 'splinter' and placed it on the table examining it carefully. It definitely wasn't any regular splinter. The layer around it wasn't like the bark that covered trees. It was much smoother. At the portion where the 'splinter' broke from the 'tree' revealed the insides of the 'splinter'. It was a deep red as if it were flesh, only dried up and hard. The surface that rounded the hardened flesh was cracked. "Almost just like a tooth…" Cloud muttered. "Oh SHIT." The realization hitting him like a brick in the head._

_Tifa was in danger._

Cloud suspected that the few bahamuts were not completely wiped out from the last battle. They probably turned on each other for food as they knew attacking the humans would arouse the attention of the W.R.O. Cloud made a mental note to himself to inform Reeve of the remaining bahamuts and take them out before they mass multiply. The thought of that made Cloud's stomach churn. He had to find Tifa before the bahamuts found her.

_The layer of the tooth coated with a kind of poison unseen to the naked eye. But when Cloud touched it, he could feel the dried layer of poison accumulated over the days that the tooth had been lying there unnoticed in the park. Apparently, the poison was produced by something inside the tooth itself, not the creature._

Cloud wanted to knock himself on the head for not bringing a torchlight. At night the park was as good as a forest. With lamps only every 100 meters or so, it was hardly enough to see anything in the pitch black darkness of the night. Cloud had already stepped on a few other lone teeth, snapping them clean into half. It looked like the longer the period of time that the tooth was isolated from its creature, it gets more fragile as well as more poisonous. The molehill of worry in Cloud was slowly building up to a Mt. Everest in his heart.

"I should have made her come back with me. ARGH! How could I have been so dumb! " Cloud spat at himself, coming to rest at a lamppost.

"TIFA! Can you hear me?" He shouted into the darkness, forehead glistering with sweat. He had been trekking for about 10 minutes and Denzel was probably getting real impatient.

"TIFA!" He tried again. Still, no response.

"Tifa if you can hear me please answer!" Cloud persisted into the darkness again.

Tifa wandered around in the forest, hysterical and unfeeling. A part of her knew that she had to get out of this place. But how? A war raged inside her body and she was losing. Hearing movements behind her, Tifa swiftly turned around to meet no one. Again, movements rustled the leaves around her. Tifa frantically turning in all directions, sweat obscuring her vision and fatigue clouding her mind. A feeble mutter of his name was all she could muster before collapsing in a heap on the asphalt pavement of the park. Her stalkers carefully approaching her body, hunger building up inside them with every step.

Before they could even lay their claws on her, Cloud sprang into action. Unsheathing his sword, Cloud slashed at the nearest bahamut. There were a total of 4 surrounding Tifa and Cloud was at a disadvantage with no sense of sight. "Tifa! Stay down!" He shouted into the darkness as he continued fighting off the bahamuts almost blindly. Tifa stirred at the sound of her name and saw constant reflections of moonlight off a giant sword. Seeing that it could only be one person, Tifa managed another smile before passing out again. After finishing off what seemed to be the last bahamut, Cloud kept his sword out for fear of more attacks and scooped up Tifa's limp body in his other hand.

"Tifa! TIFA!" Cloud tried shaking Tifa awake but to avail. Cloud was trying his best not to panic as he sheathed his sword, carried Tifa up with both arms and started off at a run for fenrir before the bahamuts sniffed them out.

Half an hour later, Tifa was in bed with a hot water towel over her head and Cloud examining what seemed to be a small cut on her ankle. It cut right into her flesh but the wound wasn't bleeding. Taking a closer look, he saw something white and shiny stuck in the wound. Fearing that it might be a part of the tooth, he attempted pulling it out, only to have the piece snapping into half with the other half still embedded in Tifa's ankle. 'The fragment must be really old. I have to get it out no matter what. Before the poison spreads further.' Cloud went out of the room and returned later with a set of knives in his hands. With a knife in each of his hands, Cloud carefully cut the wound bigger to get the portion of the tooth out in one piece. Making sure he didn't hurt Tifa, Cloud managed to get it out and sealed the wound with a cure spell.

Cloud then slumped back into the chair. Beads of sweat lined his face as he took Tifa's hot towel from her forehead, washed it, wringed it, and placed it back on Tifa's forehead. Cloud relaxed as her fever subsided. Heaving a sigh of relief, he took Tifa's hand in his and entwined his fingers around hers.

"I promised that I would come for you when you needed me." Cloud whispered silently as he kissed her hand.

_Cloud could feel that something was not right. Something was happening just around… there! Cloud's instincts led him straight to what he was looking for, Tifa. He could only sense her lying on the floor with creatures, that turned out to be bahamuts, circling her. Waiting to devour her. With that, he knew he had to act fast and take down the creatures. He knew he had to protect her. There would be no margin for error. Cloud would die protecting her. Luckily, the bahamuts were weak, probably because they have not consumed anything good recently. Panic-stricken, Cloud felt his way over to Tifa to make sure that she was alright._

Tifa woke up the next morning with a sleeping Cloud at her beside and her fingers locked with his. A deep blush crept across her cheeks as she continued to lie on her bed, not wanting to break the link with his fingers. She was elated to have Cloud still beside her. Recalling yesterday's events, Tifa was feeling much better compared to that feeling of her mind in a whirl, unable to think straight.

A twinge of guilt stabbed at her heart as she realized the position that Cloud was sleeping in. Prying her hand out of his, she shook him awake.

"Cloud… It's morning already…" she whispered into his ear.

"Hmmmm…?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes and scratching the back of his head.

Only after a few more scratches then did he exclaim, "OMG! Tifa! You're alright!" and pulled her into a deep embrace. Tifa was more delighted than shocked. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in closer, taking in his scent that always smelled like fresh pine trees. She was taking in all the comfort she could from this hug. Cloud was too. He pulled away moments after to take a good look at her face, arms still around her waist. Tifa was in the spur of the moment and pulled herself closer to his face. He could feel her light breath on his lips. Cloud edged closer only to be interrupted by a sleepy looking Denzel followed by an equally sleepy Marlene.

"When's breakfast ready?" Denzel asked innocently as he opened the door.

"Yeah… When's breakfast?" Marlene added in, teddy bear still in one hand.

Cloud and Tifa immediately broke their close proximity upon their presence.

"Ummm… Yeah honey. Let's go have breakfast!" Tifa cheerfully herded the children out of the room and down the stairs to have breakfast, leaving Cloud alone in the room, cheeks a shade of bright red.

In the kitchen, the children were having cornflakes in milk for breakfast while Tifa made a bowl for Cloud and herself.

"I'm really glad you woke up when you did Tifa. Cloud made me dinner last night and I don't really wanna taste his cooking again." Denzel commented.

"Hey are you trying to say my cooking is bad?" Cloud asked with an accused look on his face as he stepped into the kitchen. Denzel put his hands over his mouth as though he had just said something bad.

Tifa just had to giggle at the sight of them.

'They are the reason that I live in this world.' Tifa thought as she poured the warm milk over the crispy cornflakes, 'They make life worth living.'

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**Author's Note: Keep the reviews coming! i really appreciate them. And feel free to contribute ideas on the next chapter. I'm kinda running low on ideas.. Cuz i keep forgetting what i want to write. ;;**


	4. Chapter 4

**Rend: Thanks for the info. I was told by my friend that the big one was the bahamut dragon and the smaller ones were just bahamuts. Haha. Sorry about that everyone. But for convience's sake i'll just keep calling them bahamuts. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of the characters.**

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After finishing their breakfast, Denzel and Marlene rushed out of the bar to play with the other kids in the neighborhood, leaving Cloud and Tifa alone in the bar. Tifa was busy cleaning up after them as Cloud sat at the bar counter, lost in his thoughts.

'Is it normal for best friends to kiss?' A tinge of pink stained his cheeks as he reminisced Tifa's hot breath on his lips. He kept his head ducked away to make sure Tifa didn't notice.

'I was more than content to be able to hug her… I don't know what to do anymore… Maybe I should just go out for a drive to clear my thoughts. I have many other things to attend to than worry over this.' Cloud heaved a sigh.

"Cloud, a penny for your thoughts?" Tifa enquired as she noticed his sigh and turned to face him.

"Hmm…?" Cloud replied listlessly, still plagued with the morning's sleepyness.

"Hey, I'm sorry about yesterday," Cloid began, "When I scolded you in the park. It really wasn't your fault." Cloud stared at Tifa with a look of uncertainty written all over his face. He had no idea if Tifa would forgive him for being so thick.

Tifa placed the last remaining glass she was cleaning back on the rack. Cloud's eyes never left her as she strolled over the counter to sit beside him. Turning to him she said "It's alright Cloud, no harm done." And she flashed that sweet smile of hers and Cloud was, as usual, captivated by her.

"But what I really wanna know…" She continued.

"is what really happened to me?" She turned to Cloud for an answer only to find him turning with his back facing her and fanning himself.

"Cloud? Come on Cloud, this isn't the time to be fooling around! I really wanna know what happened to me yesterday!" She placed her hands on his shoulders and tried to turn him around.

Cloud took her soft hands off his shoulders as he turned around and held her hands. "Tifa, promise me you won't worry me like that ever again alright?" Cloud pleaded as worry creased his brow.

'He was… worried? For my safety?' Tifa was over the moon when she heard those words but tried her best to hide it to spare both of them the embarrassment.

"Yeah, I promise but I won't get into any trouble if you keep your promise right?"

"Umm… I guess." Cloud squeezed her hands lightly.

"You were infected with the bahamut's poison and they were trying to attack you and consume you." Cloud started abruptly.

"I… How… Why…" Tifa clearly lost in his words.

"They were hungry and you probably looked vulnerable… And maybe somewhat tasty." Cloud finished with a gin on his boyish face.

"Cloud!" Tifa protested as she smacked his chest playfully.

In between the laughter Cloud managed to voice out to Tifa that he had errands to run today.

"Errands?" Tifa stopped all of a sudden. "You mean you've started work again?" Tifa said with a hint of unhappiness in her voice.

"No no… I just need to see Reeve. About the bahamuts." Cloud replied solemnly. "But I'll have to get back to work sooner or later. My funds are running quite low." Cloud finished, standing up and motioning towards the stairs.

"You wanna come along?" Cloud stopped halfway along the stairs making full use of the chance to stare at Tifa's beauty.

"Into your room to see you change? ARE YOU INSANE?" Tifa screamed back.

Cloud was soon clutching his stomach, laughing hysterically. "No no" he managed to blurt out between fits of laughter.

Tifa stared at him with a pair of piercing eyes awaiting an answer. "Not to my room! Too see Reeve!" Cloud explained, laughter died away after looking in Tifa's eyes.

"oh." Tifa muttered softly under her breath. Her cheeks blushing a deep red. "Alright I'll come." She managed to say without making a fool out of herself again.

"Then go get changed already!" Cloud disciplined her jokingly as he pointed in the direction of her room.

"Hmph!" Tifa sounded out as she stomped past Cloud, who was standing at the top of the stairs, and into her room.

Cloud got a whiff of her sweet strawberry smelling hair as she stormed by him and he was feeling rather lightheaded as he walked into his room without opening the door first.

Cloud was on fenrir with Tifa on his back, arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Tifa leaned her head on Cloud's muscular yet soft back. She was rather upset that they arrived at the W.R.O. headquarters so quickly, but in fact, Cloud took his own sweet time driving there as he enjoyed the closeness with Tifa on the bike. He almost couldn't stop himself from going another round around edge for fear that Tifa might notice what he was doing.

After what seemed like only a few minutes to Cloud and Tifa, Cloud finally stopped at the entrance of the W.R.O headquarters.

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**Author's Note: The next updates wont be coming so soon cuz im gonna be really busy these holidays. Oh and W.R.O is the world restoration organization opened by Reeve. Another info from my friend. dunno if its reliable or not. hahaha. And thanks for all the reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

**HEYYA! I'm back! hahas. This chapter is rather short as well. Been quite dry on ideas on how to make the storyline more interesting. THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! I love reviews. They spur me on to write more! haha. okay i shan't blab too much. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of the characters.**

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"How may I help you…" The secretary stumped when she saw Cloud and Tifa standing in front of her.

"We're here to see Reeve." Cloud replied monotonously.

Snapping out of her daze, the secretary started to flip through a book. Stopping and then raising an eyebrow at them, she asked, " Do you have an appointment?"

"We don't need one." Cloud stated, tired of waiting. "Just show us to Reeve's office."

The secretary obliged, for fear of being chopped into half by the menacing sword strapped on Cloud's back. They made their way through the halls with no shortage of eyes following them for they were the only ones not dressed in the standard W.R.O. uniform and Cloud's sword was another thing they stared at.

After arriving at Reeve's office, the secretary clearing off even before Tifa could thank her. The rest of the people following them went back to their work after Cloud turned around to check on Tifa.

"I guess we're here." Tifa murmured, followed by a sigh coming from Cloud.

"Let's get this over and done with." Cloud whispered as he pushed open the fogged glass door.

"I thought it might be you. Who else in the world has such gravity defying hair?" Reeve welcomed them into his office as he put down a document he was reading.

"You knew we were coming?" Tifa enquired.

"No, I just saw the shape of his hair through the door." Reeve replied coolly, motioning for them to sit down. "So, what's the matter?"

"Its like this, Tifa was recently attacked by things which I guessed were Bahamuts that weren't wiped out in the holy rain." Cloud began.

"Hmm… Actually, I've been getting similar, if you would call it, complaints from the other regions."

"Like?"

"Like Wutai and Corel."

Cloud shifted uneasily in his chair.

"Apparently there were more than we expected and they're spreading and migrating. I have sent numerous groups of armed workers to get rid of the Bahamuts but I haven't been getting any results." Reeve stated with a drop in his mood.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Tifa began. "But we haven't been seeing any of these groups around Edge at all."

"Maybe the Bahamuts were stronger than we thought."

"Who exactly were the people you sent in Reeve?" Cloud asked.

"Just a few ex- Shinra workers we managed to round up. I thought that this would be a good use for them."

"Reeve, this is getting serious. You can't just send troops attacking the Bahamuts head on! You'll never get anywhere!" Cloud was staring to get frustrated.

"I know, I know. I've already sent the Turks to investigate the source of the Bahamuts. In other words their breeding grounds." Reeve kept in composure, knowing better than to quarrel with his friends.

"The Turks?" Tifa raised an eyebrow. "What about Rufus? He agreed?"

"Rufus? We gave him an office job. He agreed that he was more suitable in the big offices than out in the harsh environment." Reeve started rubbing his temples.

"Alright then," Cloud stood up abruptly, making Tifa jump slightly in her seat. "We'll get going now. Marlene and Denzel should be on their way back from the candystore."

Tifa hastily stood up as well, clearly have forgotten about the kids from the worry of the Bahamuts. "Thanks for everything Reeve!" Tifa waved as both of them made their way out of his office.

The door swinging shut behind them with the words 'Reeve, President of W.R.O.' engraved in gold on the front.

* * *

**Author's Note: I'm sorry if this chapter was crappy. And can anyone tell me where can i get my hands on the Dirge of Ceberus vid? i wanna watch. Reviews PLEASE! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Another chapter up! I hope this isn't too bad. D  
HappyMooingOctopus: I named the fic 'untitled' cuz im not really good with titles and stuff. And i was just so happening listening to that song. :)  
Rend: Thanks for all the info! Really appriciate them! But I'll just keep calling them bahamuts alright:)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of the characters mentioned in the story.**

* * *

"Hey Marlene,"

"Yes Denzel? "

"When do you think Cloud and Tifa will be home?"

The putter of a motorcycle was heard and two children ran out from the alley to greet their guardians.

Cloud and Tifa had left Denzel and Marlene to take care of the bar (which was closed) and go buy themselves some candy while they went to look for Reeve at W.R.O. headquarters.

"You guys took long enough! " Denzel complained as he rushed forward to hug Cloud and Tifa.

"Yeah, we even finished all our candy while waiting!" Marlene said in between hugs from Cloud and Tifa.

Cloud didn't mention anything. He was just contented to come home to them, even with the complaining.

"Come on let's go in. I'll start preparing dinner." Tifa motioned for them to go back into the bar.

"TAG YOU'RE IT!" Marlene tapped Cloud on the shoulder and raced away into the bar. Denzel catching on faster than Cloud, ran into the bar shortly after Marlene did. Leaving a confused Cloud at the doorway of 7th Heaven.

The game of tag ended with Cloud scratching the back of his head and ducking under the dining table for the fifth time.

"Cloud, what ARE you doing?" Tifa voiced out over the sizzling of the food. They were having, what Tifa called, 'Steak Delight' which was just a portion of beef cooked medium-well with peaches and a small portion of red wine.

Cloud got out from under the table and continued scratching his head. "I can't seem to find- - MMMM… What's that I smell…" Cloud's nose led him to the stove. He got behind Tifa and leaned over her shoulder to find out what she was cooking.

"Hey no sampling!" Tifa used a spatula to swat Cloud's hand away as he tried to nick a few peaches from the pan.

"Oh they're hot…" Cloud leaned back on the table and sucked his scalded thumb. Tifa rolled her eyes. 'Boys will be boys…'

"Cloud! You were supposed to come look for us! What are you doing sucking your thumb like a kid in the kitchen?" Marlene reprimanded Cloud as she stormed into the kitchen with a surprised looking Denzel right behind her.

Cloud's eyes widened at Marlene's sudden entrance and almost fell off the table in shock. Tifa couldn't control her laughter as she saw the position Cloud was in. He was halfway off the table, eyebrows raised into hair, with both feet in the air and hands on the table to save himself from falling. The table was slowly tilting and Cloud fell to floor with a crash and the solid oak table on top of him.

"Oh man…" Cloud groaned as he pushed the table off him and stood up. Everyone else in the room was laughing uncontrollably.

"What's so funny?" Cloud raised an eyebrow as he up righted the table and laid the checkered tablecloth.

After dinner, Tifa tucked Denzel and Marlene into bed and came down to the sofa to join Cloud. Cloud had a towel over his head and was drying his hair. He was only in his sweatpants and Tifa was in her pajamas with a towel to her hair as well.

"Hey."

"Hey." Cloud replied as he made space for her on the sofa beside him.

Both of them knew that they had to discuss what Reeve had discussed with them earlier in the day.

"Cloud, you know what this means don't you?" Tifa said as she sat down on the couch beside him.

Cloud stopped drying his hair for a moment and seemed deep in thought for a moment.

"Its not safe in edge anymore. Come to think of it, nowhere's safe. " Cloud replied with a hint of fear in his voice. 'I gotta be strong. For them at least.' Cloud put his towel aside seeing that his hair was dry.

"So what's next? " Tifa whispered as she continued to dry her hair.

Cloud was stumped. He knew that he had to protect them. 'But how? ' His heart voiced out.

"I'll get back to you in the morning." Cloud murmured before he made his way up the stairs.

"Cloud, don't run away from the problem again. Please." Tifa stood up and moved over to Cloud at the base of the flight of stairs.

Cloud came to standstill. He could feel the warmth of Tifa's body just behind him. 'I could just turn around and- -'

Tifa wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her shoulder on his back. Tingles were sent up Cloud's spine. "Please Cloud… " Tifa repeated.

Cloud slowly turned around to face Tifa and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Thanks Tifa… You're always there when I need a wake up call."

Tifa buried her face into the crook of Cloud's neck. Her slow exhales on Cloud's neck was making him rather warm in the face. Tifa only pulled him closer, "I'll always be here for you, Cloud."

* * *

**Author's Note: Thanks for all your reviews! Really grateful for all the support! Esp Kiome-Yasha and Rend! You guys have been like reviewing since my1st chapter!THANKS! DDD**


	7. Chapter 7

**chapter 7 up! thanks for all the reviews and keep em coming:)**

* * *

"What are you guys doing? " Denzel asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

Cloud and Tifa scrambled to get themselves off the couch and off each other. Resulting in Cloud landing on the floor with a loud thud ("OWW…") and Tifa with a face the color of red wine, still staring at Denzel.

"_Alright. We'll figure this out."_

_Cloud returned to his seat on the couch with Tifa following his lead._

"_I was thinking of maybe moving out—"_

"_No way!" Tifa rebutted at the sheer thought of abandoning their home._

"_But Tifa—"_

"_Cloud, you already said that there's no where safe from those creatures!"_

"_Hear me out Tifa,"_

"_No Cloud! You already agreed that we are NOT running away!"_

"_Would you just hear me out first?" Cloud said calmly. He was very patient with her._

_Tifa leaned back into the sofa with a 'puff' coming from the cushions._

"_Okay." Cloud took a deep breath. "Thanks."_

_Tifa remained staring into space, as if paying no need to Cloud's words._

"_I thought that if we moved to my safe house at Costa Del Sol, we would have a better chance at surviving this calamity."_

"_Cloud…" Tifa turned to him with a concerned look on her face. "Don't you think we should inform the rest of our friends before we make any decisions?"_

_Cloud wanted so smack himself. "Of course. How could I forget?" Cloud hung his head. "Sorry."_

"_Its alright. We can wait for morning till we start making calls." Tifa leaned onto Cloud's shoulder._

"_Yeah." Cloud was surprised at how comfortable he was with Tifa already. _

"_Tifa?" Cloud wrapped his arms around her and laid down with Tifa sound asleep on him._

"I'll start preparing breakfast okay Denzel?" Tifa got off the couch and smiled sweetly at him before excusing herself to the kitchen to began whipping up hotcakes for breakfast.

Denzel stretched and yawned widely again. And with that, he followed Tifa to the kitchen, awaiting his guaranteed delicious breakfast, leaving Cloud still on the hard wooden floor massaging his bruised rump.

After breakfast, Tifa was washing up the dishes while Cloud helped her by drying the dishes and putting them away. Denzel and Marlene were outside playing with their friends in the neighborhood.

"Cloud, after this we'll start making a few calls." Tifa casually remarked while soaping the last few plates in the sink.

"Right." Cloud was clearly unhappy.

"Cloud?" Tifa passed his the last dish and looked at him inquiringly.

"Sorry…" Cloud quickly smiled to reassure Tifa that nothing was wrong. "I just…" Cloud heaved a sigh and turned to face Tifa. "Why does it keep coming one after another? I just wanna live life out peacefully, with our family."

"Cloud, it'll be over sooner than you can imagine. You'll see." Tifa gave Cloud a quick kiss on his cheek and left the kitchen, grinning from ear to ear.

"Ring… Ring…"

Cloud scratched the back of his head. 'It has been so long since all of us last met.'

"Hello? " The voice on the other end snapped Cloud out of his thoughts.

"HELLO?" The voice repeated.

"Took you long enough to pick up the phone."

"Cloud? HEYYYYYYY!" Cloud had to put the receiver at least a meter from his ear.

"Hey Cid, I called to ask if you could do me a favor." Cloud began.

"Yeah anything that doesn't involve a bed and Shera."

"No no, nothing like that."

"Then state your request! "

"I just need you to pick up some familiar faces and meet us at Tifa's bar tomorrow. Can do?"

"Consider it done."


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for all the reviews! I'm really truely overjoyed with the reviews! A big thanks going out to all who reviewed:) And this chapter is more on dialog like the previous one, only longer this time. Keep the reviews coming! Cheers :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of the characters. (that downright stinks.)**

* * *

Cloud and Tifa were just teaching Denzel and Marlene how to play on the new chocobo chess set Cloud had bought quite some time ago for the kids. All four of them sprawled on their bellies on the sleek wooden floor of the living room. It was in the late afternoon when the doorbell finally rang. Smiles appeared on all of their faces as Tifa scrambled to get the door.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiii!" Yuffie practically pounced on Tifa immediately after she opened the door pulling her into a bone-breaking hug.

"Hi… Yuffie… cough Yuffie…"

"Oh, sorry." Yuffie smiled apologetically as she broke away from the hug.

"Hi everyone else!" Yuffie greeted as she ran into the living room.

Tifa ushered the others inside while Cloud put aside the chess set and brought Denzel and Marlene to say hello to their friends. After much hellos and hugs all around, everyone more or less settled down in the living room, taking seats on the couch. Yuffie was so excited at the reunion that she couldn't stop talking and Vincent, to his dismay, was sitting beside her.

"Wutai is really progressing now with me back and all…"

"Yuffie…"

"and I think I want to adopt more stray cats and raise the population of pandas…"

"Yuffie…"

"and Daddy's really happy with me saving the world and…"

"YUFFIE!"

"Oh sorry Vinc, you want to join in my conversation with Tifa?"

"arghhhh…" Vincent turned away and propped up his elbow to support his face.

"Okay so now the people of Wutai…"

(And Yuffie keeps going on and on… )

Tifa and Denzel were seated on either sides of Cloud while Marlene chose to sit on Barret's lap to make up for some lost time.

"Daddy your whiskers tickle!"

Nanaki was seated on the floor and Cid was trying to make him do tricks.

"Come on #, _SIT_ already!"

"Sigh…" just to amuse Cid, Nanaki just decided to sit down.

"Good boy…" Cid scratched Nanaki behind his ears as a reward.

"What do you think you're doi-- Ooooooh… That felt gooooood…"

"Hey Cid, where exactly did you leave the Highwind?" Cloud enquired, feeling the need to save Nanaki from such 'torture'.

"I didn't bring the Highwind this time," Cid said in his usually scruffy voice. "I brought the Shera instead. The one we used when we last fought that !# of a Sephiroth resurrected. Complete with stealth mode." He finished with a huge grin plastered on his face, clearly proud of his own creation.

"But that still doesn't answer my question. Where did you leave it?" Cloud repeated the question slower and emphasized each word through gritted teeth while the rest watched on. They too wanted to know where Cid parked that humongous 'hunk-of-junk'.

"Just above your little #$ house here spike!" Cid waved his finger at the roof as he spoke.  
"Cid, mind your language. There are minors in the house if you haven't realized." Tifa clearly  
protective over Denzel and Marlene.

"Sorry ma'am." Cid apologized with a nod.

"And I noticed you didn't bring along the _real_ Shera." Tifa added with a wink.

"&#!" Cid's ears were starting to redden. "Uh, someone had to take care of the house you see…"

"Are you telling us your house doesn't have a lock?" Cloud did that thing with his eyebrow as he questioned Cid.

"Yeah my house has a lock! But… Wait, Tifa what are you doing?"

"I'm calling Shera just to check up on her. You don't mind do you Cid?" Tifa tilted her head and smiled sweetly.

"Noooooo!" Cid exclaimed as he lunged for the phone.

Too late.

"Hi, Shera? This is Tifa." Cid slumped back into his seat and fumbled to light a cigar.

"OOOH…" Tifa's eyes widened as Cloud took Cid's cigar and stubbed it out before he left out a huge puff.

"Thanks a lot Shera!" Tifa grinned as she put down the receiver with a click and turned to Cid. He sunk lower into the red puffy couch as if to hide himself.

Tifa put her hands on her hips as she said, "Why didn't you tell us that you were getting married!" apparently Shera was eager to tell everyone and Tifa didn't need much exchange over the telephone before she got to that.

"Yeah yeah… Shera wanted to stay back at Rocket Town to take care of the preparations. I was gunna invite you guys when it was all ready." Cid explained, ears almost glowing red.  
"I heard its gonna be on the airship?" Tifa asked. Cid nodded his head.

"I'm afraid you'll have to call the wedding off." Cloud stated blankly.

"WHAT? #&!#& You try telling that to Shera yourself!" Cid responded almost jumping in his seat.

"Could we get down ta business? Enough with ya wedding plans." Barret grumbled as he motioned Marlene to go play with Denzel.

"Yeah, we should get started. " Vincent agreed.

"Alright then." Cloud waited for the kids to leave the room then leaned forward and explained the situation and the level of danger that the Bahamuts infestation in the world was causing. And Reeve (who unfortunately couldn't be there with them at that time) was having trouble containing the outbreak of monsters.

"So what do you guys suggest we should do? This concerns the safety of the world now." Cloud leaned back into the sofa as everyone was deep in thought, taking in all that Cloud had mentioned in the past ten minutes.

"Well? " After five minutes no one had said a word.

Cloud sighed as he slumped deeper into the cushions. Tifa saw the worry etched all over Cloud's face and wanted so badly to pull him into a hug to comfort him. But all she could do for now was just to slip her slender fingers in between his, and she gave his hand a small squeeze as she entwined her fingers with his. Cloud appreciated Tifa for her great timing.

She always knew when he needed uplifting.

She always knew when he needed her.

"Well," Yuffie muttered suddenly, making almost everyone jump in their seats. "Don't you think we should start off by finding the cause of the infestation and their breeding grounds?"

"Reeve already sent the Turks to investigate that." Cloud answered. "But there has been no results so far. I fear something big will start if we don't end this soon."

"Like a mass outbreak?" Vincent added coolly.

"Exactly." Cloud finished with a solemn look on his face.

"Hey, it's getting kinda late." Tifa indicated to the dark sky. "why not we rest up and we can continue tomorrow?"

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea." Yuffie yawned widely and stretched as she stood up from the couch, legs wobbling slightly from sitting too long.

"You guys could sleep in the living room. The couches are makeshift beds." Cloud indicated as he pulled one out.

"I'll go get the pillows." Tifa said as she made her way up the stairs at the corner of the living room.

"I'm going back to the airship to catch some shut eye alright." Cid stepped outside with a yawn.

"I think I'll make do in here." Yuffie collapsed on the bed that Cloud pulled out earlier and fell asleep almost instantly.

Cloud pulled out another two beds for Vincent and Barret ( yes they have 3 sofas don't ask me why ) while Nanaki was perfectly fine with the carpet. Tifa draped a blanket over Yuffie as she handed Barret and Vincent theirs.

"Good night!" Cloud and Tifa made their way up the stairs to tuck Marlene and Denzel in before they made their was to their respective bedrooms.

* * *

**Author's note: I think this fic is gonna be kinda long as in many many chapters so please bear with me:)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! Really appreciate them! This chapter is rather short. I'm really sorry that I've been putting out really short chapters cuz I'm doing this as and when i can spare abit of time. Sorry sorry sorry and please bear with me! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of the characters.**

* * *

Cloud lay in his bed. The night was as silent except from occasional snores coming from the living room. He turned on his side. Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating a portion of the room. Cloud hugged the comforter closer to his bare chest longing for it to be someone else.

Cloud's POV 

_Tifa, can't you see what you're doing to me? Would you just let me love you?_ _Or do you still see me as nothing more than a best friend from young? But why do you still act as if you love me? Or do you? Tifa, I need some answers before I break._

And with that, Cloud turned to face the pillow and fell asleep with the moonlight still shining strongly from the window.

Two rooms away, Tifa was tossing and turning in her bed as well. She glanced at the luminous numbers of the clock on her beside table. It read '12:11am'. With a barely audible sigh, Tifa lay on her back and stared at the ceiling. Staring back at her were the glow in the dark stars that Marlene and Denzel got her for her birthday last year.

"_Cloud mentioned that you liked stars." Denzel said as he stuck the last star up on the ceiling right above Tifa's bed._

"_You could always count them if you can't fall asleep." Marlene added. "They look better than sheep jumping over a fence anyway."_

A smile tugged at Tifa's lips as she recalled that moment. She was elated for Marlene and Denzel to have gotten a present for her. But she didn't get one from Cloud. He didn't come home. Tifa's smile faded into a frown as she remembered how tough it was to get through without Cloud.

Tifa's POV 

_Cloud, why can't you forget about her already? I know you've forgiven yourself and changed so much since then. But can you really let me into your life? I don't wanna be left behind anymore Cloud. Do you know how much I love you?_

Cloud was woken up by the strong sunlight shining through his window. Regretting that he didn't close his curtains the night before to catch a few more winks of sleep this morning, Cloud groggily made his way down the stairs rubbing his eyes clad in nothing more than a pair of black sweat pants.

"What's for breakfast Tifa? Smells good as always." Cloud sat at the kitchen table alone staring at Tifa's back while she flipped open the waffle maker.

"Ooooo waffles…" Yuffie sauntered into the kitchen and took a seat beside Cloud looking reenergized compared to yesterday.

"Are the rest still sleeping?" Asked Tifa as she laid down two plates of waffles on the table for Cloud and Yuffie.

"Yeah Barret's still asleep but Vincent's missing." Yuffie said as she grabbed the maple syrup.

"Any idea where he went?" Cloud muttered as he took the bottle from her.

"No idea." Yuffie muttered between mouthfuls.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of the characters.**

* * *

Previous night.  
Vincent moved swiftly backed from wall to wall. The moon shone brightly through the broken roof of the Nibelheim mako reactor. The smell of mako in the area was mordant in the air. Someone had definitely been messing with the mako. Even though the existing town of Nibelheim still relied on mako, the reactor was filthy and corrupted. The walls of steel all rusted with holes, growth entering and twisting around the pipes. There was definitely _something_ living in the reactor causing all the corruption. Vincent's un-clawed hand made its way under his cloak to reach for the death penalty. He wanted to be ready for any unexpected attacks. Vincent was backed against the wall beside the door that led to where Jenova was previously kept. Cautiously, Vincent tilted his head to take a peek into the room. Where the Jenova chamber previously stood, now was a massive mountain of skulls with someone or _something_ crouching on top on all fours. It looked exactly like a bahamut, only bigger and in a more human form. Surrounding it were the other bahamuts. Vincent studied the room more slowly and noticed things looked like egg sacks were pulsing, green and in an oval shape. They lined the ceilings with what looked like pupas growing in them.

Vincent was felt the urgency to inform his friends of the bahamuts and turned to leave the reactor. Before he could take another step, a cry from the inside of the room was heard.

"The end is near! In exactly a week's time, these new hatchlings would have grown enough to strike at the nearby town." An ear-splitting roar erupted after that was announced.

'Apparently the bahamuts have gotten hungry.' Vincent thought to himself, making his way back to his spot beside the door.

"We will feast on the puny humans and rule their pathetic world in their place. We shall crush all who dare oppose us!" The voice bellowed among all the roars of the other bahamuts.

Vincent had already begun to make his way back to 7th Heaven to get the news to the rest. A week was all they had.

* * *

"WHAT YOU SAY VAMP?" Barret hollered.

"For the last time," Vincent seethed "I am not a vampire. And indeed what I said was true."

Barret, Vincent and the rest of AVALANCHE discussed, or rather, quarreled over the news Vincent had brought early in the afternoon.

Cloud's head was in his hands. He was definitely not ready for this. He was expecting a year or so before the bahamuts struck.

"This is too soon…" Cloud mumbled under his breath making sure that no one heard.

Although she did not hear his grievances, Tifa knew what was going through Cloud's mind. She too pulled up a seat beside Cloud to take a back seat and watch the rest of the team argue at the table. They had been though wars, battles and sufferings of many kinds. Lucky enough, they survived. But this time it may be different. Nothing was for sure.

"Tifa,"

Tifa slowly turned to face Cloud with her arms folded across her chest.

"Get the kids back in the house. We're going."

Without question, Tifa nodded and strode across the smooth chestnut colored floor and out the door.

Cloud stood up abruptly and caused the team to fall silent and stare at him.

"We need to set up a fort. We're gonna go into war." Cloud murmured eyes darting from one friend to the next. Cloud then turned to Nanaki who was sitting by the side of the table, rather deep in thought. "Nanaki, will you allow Cosmo Canyon to be used as a fort?" Nanaki merely nodded without facing Cloud.

"If this would save the world, I would do my best to contribute." Nanaki said before excusing himself from the table.

"Alright then that's settled. Everyone pack your bags and do some phone calls." Cloud instructed.

Barret was about to open his mouth to argue when Cloud interrupted him. "Barret, if you want to complain, you can yell about it later. I'm not gonna waste crucial time now and risk the lives of the people I love." And with that, Cloud turned and walked up the stairs, leaving an open-mouth Barret gaping after Cloud.

* * *

Cloud had gotten Tifa to help the children pack and he whipped out his PHS to make a few phone calls. Cloud packed much faster then them considering he wasn't so particular about what he needed, so he had the spare time to contact Reeve on the situation.

"Reeve, I know Vincent has already told you about the situation but I hope you can help me with this."

"I'll do whatever that's needed of me."

"Good. Cosmo Canyon needs more defense. So I was thinking if you could get your company to turn Cosmo Canyon into a _real _fort."

"Yeah, I got it. Anything else?"

"And contact the people of Fort Condor. I suppose they have more experience than us in fighting a war."

"I'm on it."

Within hours, familiar faces were settling down at Cosmo Canyon and making do with what little space the Canyon had to offer.

"Why aren't the other people of the towns coming?" Cloud was clearly frustrated.

"They weren't convinced that there were such things as _bahamuts_." Nanaki informed. "Even the people of Cosmo Canyon think this is a big joke!"

"They bet their sorry #!()! Asses that I'm not gonna save them if those monsters bite their heads off!" Barret commented in his usual gruff voice.

Ignoring Barret's comment, Cloud turned to Reeve. "Are the preparations-"

"Cloud, stop worrying. Everything is going as planned." Reeve put a hand on Cloud's shoulder assuring him.

The Canyon was to be turned into a fort with multiple layers of stonewalls with a village built around the Canyon. The people from Fort Condor agreed to help out with the construction and managing of the troops. With such short notice, Reeve had to hire mercenaries and equip the fighting squad of the W.R.O. for war.

In a blink of an eye, 5 days passed and the preparations were nearing completion. It was a night with a full moon and a decent breeze as Cloud walked along the deserted walls, his swords sheathed in his holster. He climbed up one of the stone outposts built into the wall and turned his sight towards Gold Saucer. Cloud propped his elbow up on the still and rested his cheeks on his knuckles. It was still shimmering and flashing like it always did. Cloud heaved a sigh as he was reminded of that date he had with Tifa in Gold Saucer.

"Tifa, I…" 

"_Cloud look it's all really pretty!"_

"_Tifa, I…"_

"_Ahhh the chocobos are so cute!"_

"_Tifa, I…"_

Cloud just didn't know how to put it and every time he tried to put it across to her, his breath would just get hitched in his throat. Cloud ran his fingers through his blonde spiky hair in frustration.

"Tifa, I love you." Cloud whispered to the wind, as if hoping that the wind would help him bring his message to her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of the characters.**

* * *

Lines of men with tall builds stood at the entrance of the Canyon. All equipped and armored.

Marlene stood at the door of her house, waving to her father as he waved back, obviously unwilling to leave her.

Yuffie adjusted her Conformer nervously on her back, then dragging her feet to join the group.

It was a Saturday. Just a day before the supposed attack of the Bahamuts on Nibelhem. The sun was already high up in the sky before they set off on chocobos.

From the sky, it would look like a stampede with a orderly group of at least fifty men behind a line made up of three members. One with a more petite size with a enormous star attached to her back, another one definitely robust and bigger sized than the previous one with a metallic hand glimmering in the sunlight, and the last of the three being the only one on a motorbike, was racing ahead of the rest.

Their modus operandi was to get to the destination by sundown, set up camp in the nearby mountains and wait for the assault on the town.

Cloud kept his eyes on the road ahead of him. But his mind kept wandering back to the immediate past.

'Was I too harsh with her?'

Cloud sighed and bowed his head for a moment.

"_I don't want you to go."_

"_Why? Cuz' you think I'm gonna get myself killed out there!"_

"_Tifa…"_

"_Cloud, I'm not some 18 year old! I can kick- ass!"_

"_Tifa, we don't know what we're up against…"_

"_Oh then it's okay for you, Barret and Yuffie to go?"_

"_Tifa, you know what I mean. You're not going and that's final."_

"_Fine! Get yourself killed out there! See if I care!"_

Cloud shook his head, as if to clear the hurt and the pain he felt as Tifa pierced those few words into his heart.

Barret noticed Cloud was looking out of sorts and motioned the chocobo to get up closer to Cloud. Unfortunately, his chocobo was not used to the roaring engine of Fenrir and Barret had to shout for Cloud to notice him.

"YO SPIKEY! WHATTS THE MATTER WIT YOO FOO?"

Cloud had heard him, but chose to ignore Barret's voice over the resounding whoosh of the wind.

* * *

The ground had finally turned from a blur of dust and dirt to lush green grass. Cloud signaled the rest to stop and take a break. Following, he led Fenrir into a slow stop and took off his protective goggles. Cloud was feeling the slight breeze in his hair and enjoyed it thoroughly. He ran a hand through his hair and dusted himself as he got off Fenrir and kicked up the stand. Spotting a nearby stream, he made his way over with his other comrades already there.

Scooping up a handful of fresh water, he put his hands to his lips and gulped the water down his parched throat gratefully. Beside Cloud, Barret was refilling his water can (the size of his palm) that he had just drowned moments ago. Cloud noticed the size and raised an eyebrow at it.

"Whatcha' lookin' at foo?" Barret noticed Cloud's expression as he screwed the lid on tight.

"Nothing." Cloud went back to what he was doing and splashed a handful of the water on his dry and dust-covered face.

"Well, if youre wondering about the size, Marlene gave it to me so don't you dare get any )!(# ideas." And with that, Barret strode back to his chocobo animatedly talking to his water can as if it was Marlene.

Cloud stared down into the clear water and his thoughts brought him back to the person that was lingering at the back of his mind.

"Tifa…" Cloud whispered to himself.

* * *

It was already dusk when Nibelhem came into view. And by the time they had reached Mt. Nibel, the sun had already set beyond the horizon.

Cloud was getting his swords out of the compartment in Fenrir and placing them in his holster when his PHS rang. Coolly, Cloud reached for his PHS while he fixed his last sword into the holster. Cloud didn't pay attention to the number before flipping it open and placing it to his ear.

"Hello?" Cloud was walking back to his tent.

"Cloud…" When he heard her voice, he stopped in his tracks.

"Tifa!" He gripped the phone tighter and looked around as if looking if she had followed him.

"Yeah…" Cloud melted under her ever-sweet voice.

"Didn't think you would call…" His words were again anchored in his throat.

"Cloud…"

"Yeah…?"

"I've… I've missed you." Cloud gulped and made sure he was out of earshot of the rest before continuing the phone call.

Tifa spoke again, "Cloud… I want you to promise me that you'll make it back safe and sound alright?"

"Yeah I promise."

"You won't break your promise?"

"Since when have I ever?" Cloud ended with a smirk plastered on his face.

"Thanks Cloud."

"…"

Cloud shut cover of his phone triumphantly and turned around to make his way back to campsite only to get face to face with the ever-sneaky Yuffie Kisaragi.

With a look of utmost horror upon his face, Cloud open and closed his mouth a few times praying silently that Yuffie had not been eavesdropping.

"So Cloud, that was Tifa wasn't it?" Cloud's eyes opened wider as if they weren't already wide enough.

"Err… Yeah but she just hung up so I'm just gonna catch some shut eye alright yeah!" Cloud stringed his words together before he made a mad dash past Yuffie towards his tent.

"Tsk tsk… Its not like we don't know…" Yuffie's hands were on her hips and shaking her head.

"Know about what?" Said a deep, husky voice from behind.

* * *

**Author's Note: Really apologise for the long wait. I've been up to my neck in school work. I promise I'll make it up to you guys with longer chappies. Please review whether good or bad! THANKS! **


	12. Chapter 12

Yuffie's POV

That voice, so familiar… Yet, I can't put a finger on who he may be. I better not let my guard down. Oh no, he's moving closer. What if he's a serial killer? Or even worse, A RAPIST!

Yuffie aimed a sharp kick to what she figured was the man's abdomen. But, the mysterious cloaked figure caught her leg in mid-air with ease and gently pushed her leg out of the way so that he could lessen the distance between them.

"Who are you! IDENTIFY YOURSELF NOW!" Yuffie half screamed in fear, yet trying to sound intimidating at the same time which clashed horribly.

"Hmm…" He pulled himself so close to her that their noses were barely touching.

"We haven't seen each other for, what, a day? And you forget me?"

"OH. Sorry Vincent."

Yuffie grinned sheepishly. The moment she saw those wine colored orbs, she knew exactly who it was. Who else she knew would roam around in the dark with a scary red cloak anyway?

Snapping out of her daydream, Yuffie realized that Vincent was staring back at her and casted her mind around, trying to fish for a conversation topic to avoid the awkward silence.

"Hey Vincent, how come you only joined us now?"

"You know it's not exactly _convenient _for me to travel in the day."

"Oh…"

Vincent shook his head and sighed. She was as ignorant as ever. Yuffie, the young, meek ninja that caught his attention the first day they met. Though he knew that his heart would always long for Lucrecia, this young ninja proved to be something that might take his mind off his old flame.

"Hey Vincent, I'm gonna get changed and go to sleep alright? So, catch ya' some time tomorrow!"

Yuffie walked off but stopped after a few steps. Then came running back to where Vincent was.

"Remember to get some sleep alright? Don't want you to look like a vampire tomorrow."

With that, Yuffie took off for her tent at a jog.

"Don't I already look like one? "

Vincent whispered under his breath, grinning to himself at Yuffie's silliness.

- - - -

Cloud was tossing and turning in his make shift bed. He had been lying there for about an hour having insomnia. But he knew what was keeping him awake. The same thing that had troubled his sleep from the first day that he met that stunning beauty.

"Tifa…"

Cloud whispered and looking longingly at the empty space beside him.

"You're never here…"

Cloud turned over and let his face sink into his pillow.

"Damn…"

He growled in frustration.

As if on cue,

"Because you didn't let me come!"

Cloud sat up straight and turned around to face the entrance of his tent. Shock was written all over his face the moment he saw the beholder of that sugar-sweet voice.

"Well? Aren't you gonna start apologizing to me so that you can sleep?"

Tifa sat down beside him and leaned against the tent, hugging her knees.

"You shouldn't be here. And besides, that's not what's bothering me." Cloud lay down and turned so that his back faced her.

"It's not?" Tifa's eyes widened slightly.

"But I'm glad that you didn't listen to me and stayed at the Canyon."

Tifa smiled to herself and was glad that Cloud couldn't see how happy she was when he mentioned that he was happy to see her.

"So, what's bothering you?" Tifa enquired like an innocent child.

Cloud sat up again, and faced Tifa. He looked deep into her wine-colored eyes. Tifa could feel the blush creeping up her cheeks but she wasn't really bothered about that now. She too was peering deep into those mako- blue orbs of his.

Cloud took off the covers, edged closer to her and placed his hand upon hers.

"This has been bothering me…"

He clasped her hand and squeezed it gently.

"Since…"

Cloud looked her in the eyes again.

"I met you."

Their faces were inches apart. Tifa could feel his breath on her lips and her face was lighted up like Christmas tree.

Cloud's free hand went up to her face and cupped her cheek lovingly.

"Tifa…"

Tifa's heart was beating rapidly and her mind was as good as blank.

"I…"

Cloud closed the distance between them and whispered,

" I love you."


End file.
